relanat wrote:Also Volkov will now attack friendlies. He used to whine that "Helena wouldn't like that". But I haven't checked to see if this happens in vanilla 1.7a1a.

Disregard this. He will attack dead friendly stations but not live friendlies. My bad.

And I like the idea of only having a reactor and armor in rebuilt ships. It makes sense and this is what usually happens anyway because I don't have a reactor on hand big enough to power the weapons and shield I want to install.

One feature I would like is the ability to mark a shipwreck (stake a salvage claim so to speak) so that NPC ships won't scuttle it. I once had one trying to scuttle the wreck that I was jettisoning items into in order to rebuild. The only way to stop it was to get my other drones to kill it. NPCs are getting a bit annoying in their efficiency at keeping the systems clean. You may need to add some sort of attribute so that the wreck doesn't get looted and scuttled as it's rebuilding.

The CSC dock services idea is great. I was thinking of something like this but never even thought of using a CSC, well done.
You could have drones use fuel now and refuel from the CSC. Or something lke that (probably not before Apr 21 though ).

An idea I had was to have an item called 'Dock Services Module' which could be installed in bigger drone ships, either when rebuilding them (scratch that, can't get the module to the ship, it's too big) or at a shipyard. Anything from an EI7000 up could have these, Marauder raid platform, etc. Maybe based on cargo hold size (1000t and up or something but still need extra room for items that will be installed) and using 4 device slots. Haven't thought it through.

Progress report: All ships in Stars of the Pilgrim are PSD-compatible and playable in Eternity Port. Currently, I am going through a debugging pass and looking for minor things I forgot about and fix them. PSD7 is almost complete enough for a release. However, I think I will delay release and try to make the expansion ships PSD-compatible before I upload, since I have about a week left.

@ reliant: If you see a so-called friendly approaching to loot-and-smash your wreck, kill him or take your items back if you cannot. Yes, it hurts (which I why I exterminate Salvagers and other thieves on sight when I play.) If I really did not want others interfering with your repairs, I would make repairs instant as before. In other words, I will not do anything to prevent NPCs from spoiling your repairs, because they are jerks.

I am reluctant to add new items to Playership Drones. This is one reason I removed shipwrights and use existing armor repair devices for repairs instead. Similarly, I did not add any alien reactors for Iocrym ships. Those ships have built-in reactors.

Dock Services, assuming I add them in (remember, no guarantee I will have time to do this), will be a ship feature reserved for very few.

I doubt I will have time to implement personalities.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
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I examined dock services code, and came to the conclusion that it will probably take me a day or two to get that implemented. I cannot spare that much time if I want a chance to add PSD compatibility to expansion (and a few more mod) ships. Adding dock services will not be trivial. Thus, for the first release of Beta, dock services will likely be omitted.

Recently, I added the Pilot command to the connection dockscreen for now, due to request. However, that screen is getting crowded, and once I add Dock Services and personalities later, Pilot will likely get put on the chopping block, and you will need to change ships via communications like in the Alpha.

Currently...
I finished adding another option for shipwrecks called "Shipwreck Data". This restores the Shipwreck Stats option from PSD6. Selecting this shows the large image of the docked ship (same as ship select) and stats similar to ship configuration.

I will start adding PSD compatibility to expansion ships. So far, my probable first targets are the Resurrector ships from Eternity port.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

I have commenced work on adding PSD-compatibility to Eternity Port ships. So far, First Hunters and Resurrectors are done. Progress is good, and I think I will have all of the expansion ships PSD-compatible before release.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

Over half of the Eternity Port ships are PSD-compatible with Stars of the Pilgrim. Have about a dozen ships left from Eternity Port to do (Asian Pacific, Luminous, CDM remotes). If I can maintain my current rate, I can probably finish them tomorrow. Once I finish making ships compatible to SotP, I can extend that support back to Eternity Port. (I do not want to play through the Morning Star intro each time I want to test something.)

Once Eternity Port ships are done, I will probably make chimera ships in Corporate Command PSD-compatible, and update the prior PSD-compatibility work for Corporate Command done for PSD6.

I hope to finish PSD7 by this weekend. Will probably post some more quick progress reports in the meantime if noteworthy enough.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

All ships from Eternity Port are PSD-compatible in Stars of the Pilgrim. Some bugs and images need to get fixed, and compatibility extended back to Eternity Port. That leaves Corporate Command ships and possibly few others to add PSD-compatibility to.

Added two features last night. One restores interior repairs from PSD6. This time, cost varies by hit points repaired. The other feature added is the addition of a red "hull integrity" bar underneath the ship once interior takes damage (by normal means).

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

One thing I forgot to mention is that interior health bar implementation is imperfect. It only shows hull integrity if player takes hit while already suffering interior damage. Usually, that is not a problem since ships with interior tend to be extremely resilient. However, attacks that chew through interior, such as Ares plasma archcannon or Gem of Sacrifice may not get shown until it is too late. Also, once shown, hull integrity updates once per second, which means big hits may not update quickly enough.

Moving on to a progress report...

All Corporate Command ships (except T55 knockoffs like Anubis) are PSD-compatible in Stars of the Pilgrim, including chimera ships. Rebuilding a chimera ship will restore the chimera (under your control), instead of a purified ship. Most chimera ships have a builtin weapon that cannot be removed, similar to Constellation's auton bay.

Tasks left to do:
* Extend PSD-compatibility of expansion ships to Eternity Port.
* Make 1.7 Osaka PSD-compatible.
* Try to make a few extra ships PSD-compatible.
* Debug some things I forgot about.

I do not plan to add anymore features. Time is running short, and I need to finish up what I have as soon as possible. PSD7 Beta will probably be ready in three or four days.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

Last thing I did yesterday for PSD: Added cocoon layer (as an event) for Drake chimera. This means if you acquire a Drake chimera, you too can lay cocoons and have your own hatched Viking chimeras kill things. There are some limitations to prevent things from getting too wild. The Vikings hatched are not drones. They are the actual chimera ships, but spawned under your flag. They do not take orders. Instead, they attack all nearby enemies then gate out when done. Cocoons simply explode if no nearby enemies are found; we do not want too much spam in the system.

Today, I need to decide what to do with the EI7000 chimera's injector. In Corporate Command, they simply turned Gunsan shipyards into chimera factories with a messy script. That will not work for us, and we need a more general solution. I am thinking of making the PSD version either a low-grade nano weapon or a neuroplague/pteravore launcher knock-off.

Update: Settled on EI7000 chimera having an intrinsic +50% damage to all matter weapons, to represent repurposed injector doing "things" to bullets, shells, missiles, and the like. Fast and simple.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
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Progress report: All official ships are PSD-compatible with Stars of the Pilgrim and Eternity Port, and PSD-compatible Osaka has been updated. All that is left to do is to playtest and debug what is done, and maybe add/update PSD-compatibility with some third party ships.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

I decided to update PSD-compatibility to the Mikeno and a few older bygone versions of ships (e.g., v0.97 version of EI500). Currently, I am updating a few mod ships for PSD7 Beta.

Mikeno is a starter ship. It showcases traits of capital ships. Some of its equipment was downgraded. Then again, Mikeno does not appear in the game normally, so that should not be a problem.

It will not be long before I finish adding ships. Afterwards, it is simply debugging and assembling PSD for release in a day or two.

Update: Finished adding ships. Now in the debugging stage.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

I took a stab at adding Dock Services to ships, and discovered the way I would implement it would be very similar to what I did in Godmode, and would likely clash with Godmode. Godmode is due for an overhaul, but for now, I will pass on adding Dock Services in PSD7.

I will try to update PSD-compatibility to the Lindworm (once I figure out how to work with its launcher specs) and maybe a few other mod ships before I upload the hotfix.

With PSD7 Beta done, I plan to suspend work on PSD, aside from bugfixing, and move on to other projects for now. I did not plan to progress PSD7 to Beta this soon, but it had to be thanks to the recent Twitch episode, and the work was worth it. Alpha on Twitch would have been a disappointment.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

Later, I should decouple Playership Drones from the Human Space library. Easier said than done since PSD assumes and relies on Human Space, which does not mix well with Vault of the Galaxy. I will need to think about how to get PSD to play nice with adventures not in Human Space.

Some of the current design for PSD may need to be rethought and adapted to work as Transcendence evolves.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!

I have resumed work updating Playership Drones to 1.7. So far, some of the missing ships (the two new NAMI ships) were added.

I am considering removing the game settings screen that appears after a new game was started. As for the options...
* Friendly Fire: I am considering disabling this.
* One ship challenge: If you play Playership Drones, it is partly because you want to build a fleet, or at least recover unusual ships you cannot buy.
* Scuttle: Now that NPCs cannot scuttle all ships.
* Targeting Program: I may consider having this on by default, because you need targeting to command ships, or at least have shipyards offer this service.
* CHEAT: Probably have this offered on the ship screen, then on the first time it is offered, warn the player and offer chance to proceed or refuse.
* Immutable Shipyards: Eventually, I want to use the Ship Broker instead of my own convoluted mess.

Download and Play in 1.8 Beta...Drake Technologies (Alpha): More hardware for combat in parts 1 and 2!Godmode v3 (WIP): Dev/cheat tool compatible with D&O parts 1 or 2.
Download and Play in 1.7...Star Castle Arcade: Relive classic arcade gaming in a new Transcendence adventure!Playership Drones v8: Under construction!